1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heat dissipation devices for removing heat from electronic components, and more particularly to a heat dissipation device including a plurality of individual fin plates that are interlocked together.
2. Description of Prior Art
Conventional heat dissipation devices used for removing heat from electronic components are mostly formed by extrusion of metallic material. This kind of heat dissipation device comprises a base, and a plurality of pins integrally extending from the base. The pins are relatively thick in comparison with distances defined between each two adjacent pins, due to inherent limitations in extrusion technology. This restricts the number of the pins that can be formed, and a total heat dissipation area that can be provided by the pins. Furthermore, a height of the pins is limited to about 13 times the distance between each two adjacent pins, also due to inherent limitations in extrusion technology.
With the continuing boom in electronics technology, numerous modern electronic components such as central processing units (CPUs) of computers can operate at very high speeds and thus generate large amounts of heat. The heat must be efficiently removed from the CPU; otherwise, abnormal operation or damage may result. Conventional extruded heat dissipation devices are increasingly no longer able to adequately remove heat from these contemporary electronic components.
In order to keep pace with these developments in the electronics technology, assembled heat dissipation devices have been gaining in popularity. For example, China Patent No. 2462641Y provides an assembled heat dissipation device having a plurality of uniformly dimensioned individual plate fins evenly stacked together. Each fin forms top and bottom flanges. Each flange defines a pair of indents in communication with a main body of the fin, and forms a pair of tabs extending from outer peripheries of the indents respectively. The tabs of each fin are attached on the corresponding flanges of an adjacent fin in the indents. Thus, all the fins are connected together to form the heat dissipation device. However, the fins are connected together only by the attachment of the tabs of each fin in the indents of the adjacent fin. The fins are prone to be disengaged from each other when the heat dissipation device is subjected to shock or vibration during transportation or in operation. Part of or even the entire stack of fins may collapse.